What do you need to know about baby snacks?

Benefits when giving snacks to children

Snacks are experiences

At meals, babies are usually fed using a spoon; During a snack, your baby will have the opportunity to hold a piece of bread or a piece of biscuits by himself, hold it up and put it in his mouth. Snacks are an opportunity for children to interact and experience different foods on their own.

Snacks help fill the void in your baby's belly

Babies with small stomachs are usually full, fast and have difficulty tolerating too long periods of time between meals like adults, so they need snacks. As solid foods become an important part of your baby's diet, snacks will be essential to meet your child's nutritional needs. Just three meals a day is not enough to provide adequate nutrition for your baby.

Snacking can give your baby time to rest

Children also need a little rest after hours of play and snacks are the time to bring them necessary relaxation moments.

Snacks satisfy your baby's needs

Children tend to put everything they pick up and put in their mouths. Snacking will give your baby the chance to put something in his mouth without penalty.

Snacking makes weaning milder

If you don't encourage snacking, your baby will only be able to breastfeed or bottle feed. Snacks will help gradually reduce your baby's need to breastfeed until weaning is successful.

Things you need to keep in mind when feeding your baby snacks

To reap the benefits of snacking without making any mistakes, keep the following in mind:

Snacking at the right time

Snacks too close to a meal can affect your baby's appetite for the meal. You should arrange snacks between meals to avoid the problem mentioned above.

Feeding your baby regularly will make him get used to having something in his mouth all the time and this is a bad habit affecting his waistline. Keeping food in the mouth at all times can lead to tooth decay, as starch in food can turn into sugar when exposed to saliva in the mouth.

Offer your child a snack in the morning, one at noon and one at night if the time between dinner and bedtime is long. Of course you can always make exceptions, for example when the main meal is delayed too long than usual and the baby is really hungry.

Snacks need a good reason

There are many good reasons and also bad reasons for snacking. Avoid offering snacks if your baby is bored, in pain, or when he or she completes something rewarding.

Snacks in the right place

Snacks should be cared for as meals. For safety reasons, offer snacks while sitting, or preferably, on their own dining chair. Of course, if you go out and your baby is in the pram and the time for snacking has arrived, you can feed them on the spot. But never let your baby think that your feeding is compensation for long sitting in confined spaces like stroller.